7.5 is a fair score

Rating: 8/10 (15 July 2015)

I feel that 7.5 is a fair score for this film (at the time of writing the score is currently 7.6).
The story is simple: Jim (Cillian Murphy) awakes from a coma to find London abandoned and to discover that a blood-borne infection has spread throughout the United Kingdom.
It is widely known that Danny Boyle had used standard definition digital cameras to film this. Although this means that the film is perhaps not worth getting on blu-ray (I have only seen this film on DVD so I cannot judge blu-ray quality), I like the look of it. I feel the look fits the film perfectly while giving it an interesting aesthetic.
On a personal note, I feel the opening explanation of animal activists releasing rage- infected monkeys was not needed. I personally felt the film was more of a survivor story and do not believe the explanation was needed. This is personal preference and does not affect the overall quality of the film.
I feel the film loses quality for two things: the girl's (Hannah) acting and the ending. It is widely known that child actors are usually bad but when objectively reviewing this film, her emotionless delivery of lines impacts the film such as the scene of her father's (Frank) death. That scene was one of the best moments of the film, the music was well used and Brendan Gleason's acting skills are very good. However, the moment when she says "Dad" took me out of the moment due to being poorly delivered when she should have been highly emotional after losing a father.
The ending was out of place. Not only was it obviously shot on film so it was visually out of place but the scene's tone does not match the rest of the film. In it Hannah, Selena and Jim are shown at a cottage where they try to signal a plane to rescue them. The original ending showed Jim dying after being shot and Hannah and Selena leaving to survive on their own. I don't hate happy endings but in the case of this film I thought the original ending was much better, even Danny Boyle believed this to be the superior ending.
Despite this, I thoroughly enjoy this movie and watch it often. The concept is good, I like the aesthetic, the music is excellent and it succeeded at making me care for the characters (something very few horrors do). I highly recommend this film.